Frankfurt’s way promises no hope for battered Irish economy
They refuse to get it. Ireland is marinated in debt at every level. These debts are unaffordable. Whether it’s promissory notes, tracker mortgages or Eircom, the solution will require, sooner or later, debt restructuring. Debt deferral only buys time. For Ireland’s economic recovery and societal salvation to be achieved we have to face our problems with honesty. The same scriptwriters that convinced Brian Cowen, that a sovereign bailout was avoidable, have persuaded the cabinet that economic growth can lead us to debt sustainability. They were wrong then and are wrong now.
In Greece and Portugal the official language, softly but subtly changed. Instead of the ‘no default’ mantra it’s finessed into no ‘disorderly’ default. The difference being that it is done by mutual agreement with the EU Commission, ECB and IMF. Of course, unilateral reneging on our liabilities can’t be achieved. Bilateral renegotiation on promissory notes has been underway for months. The prize for being the best bailout boy in class, or the only PIGS state to re-emerge in the markets, hasn’t impacted on the ECB. They have conceded nothing in return for the Irish taxpayer recompensing senior bondholders in full for bust closed banks — they failed to adequately regulate.
